The Distraction: A Defector Podcast

Drew and Roth are joined, for the first time ever, by Aaron Schatz, Chief Analytics Officer at FTN Fantasy, ESPN NFL writer, and founder of Football Outsiders! Football data companies are being screwed over by venture capital and aligning with gambling interests. How does Aaron feel about this shift? Then, this year’s NFL draft class is awful. How will teams deal? How does Aaron feel about AJ Brown coming to his Patriots? Finally, they open up the funbag to answer real questions from Distraction listeners.
Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0!

Stuff We Talked About
Drew “Two Cavities” Magary & David “Sleep Injury” Roth
Fantasy (not the Swords & Sandals stuff)
Proud Worcesterites
Faintly remembering some guys
Praxis on the O-Line
Making noises at Jim Nantz

Sponsors
- Storyworth, where you can save up to $20

Credits
- Hosts: Drew Magary & David Roth
- Producer: Brandon Grugle
- Editor: Mischa Stanton
- Production Services & Ads: Multitude Podcasts
- Subscribe to Defector!

About The Show
The Distraction is Defector's flagship podcast about sports (and movies, and art, and sandwiches, and certain coastal states) from longtime writers Drew Magary and David Roth. Every week, Drew and Roth tackle subjects, both serious and impossibly stupid, with a parade of guests from around the world of sports and media joining in the fun! Roth and Drew also field Funbag questions from Defector readers, answer listener voicemails, and get upset about the number of people who use speakerphone while in a public bathroom stall. This is a show where everything matters, because everyone could use a Distraction. Head to defector.com for more info.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mike Schur is back, and we’re talking baseball! The MLB has rolled out its automated ball strike challenge system, but how do Mike and Roth feel about it? Will they trash CB Buckner for having six of his six strike calls overturned? Then, Roth must face the reality of his Mets being in last place. Next, Drew requires more wild food takes from Mike, like his hate for hot fruit or his belief that onion is the only good pizza topping. And finally, they open up the funbag to finally solve what movie you should be watching in the bathroom.
Check out Mike’s new book, Big Fan, May 19th!
Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0!

Stuff We Talked About
Cards that don’t appreciate (but don’t depreciate)
A little piece of salami
Hugging your BFF on the field
Apple pie and espresso in the dugout
The Ulysses S. Grant of the MLB
Falling down the Exorcist steps
Onions are the only good pizza topping
A bathroom trip in THX

Sponsors
- Raycon, where you can get 15% off the Everyday Earbuds Classic
- MeUndies, where you can get up to 50% off your first order, plus free shipping

Credits
- Hosts: Drew Magary & David Roth
- Producer: Brandon Grugle
- Editor: Mischa Stanton
- Production Services & Ads: Multitude Podcasts
- Subscribe to Defector!

About The Show
The Distraction is Defector's flagship podcast about sports (and movies, and art, and sandwiches, and certain coastal states) from longtime writers Drew Magary and David Roth. Every week, Drew and Roth tackle subjects, both serious and impossibly stupid, with a parade of guests from around the world of sports and media joining in the fun! Roth and Drew also field Funbag questions from Defector readers, answer listener voicemails, and get upset about the number of people who use speakerphone while in a public bathroom stall. This is a show where everything matters, because everyone could use a Distraction. Head to defector.com for more info.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ed Zitron is back on the show, because it’s been too long since he last came on to yell at us about AI. And there’s a lot to yell about! To kick it off, we get the latest on the Big AI Companies, and the seriously unethical house of cards they’ve built for all of us. Other than the ones Anthropic is providing to the Dept. of Defense, who are the actual targets for these products? Why are all of these companies dumping their vast fortunes into a product that devalues the human experience not just for their users but also everyone else, when they could be pouring that money into the kind of cool gadgets we used to have? How can all of us idiots even claim that this is Artificial Intelligence, when we don’t even know what intelligence is?
Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0!

Stuff We Talked About
Clammy Sam Altman
Vibe-code speedballs
Teaching for the test
The JD Vance of OpenAI
Tokenmaxxing

Credits
- Hosts: Drew Magary & David Roth
- Producer: Brandon Grugle
- Editor: Mischa Stanton
- Production Services & Ads: Multitude Podcasts
- Subscribe to Defector!

About The Show
The Distraction is Defector's flagship podcast about sports (and movies, and art, and sandwiches, and certain coastal states) from longtime writers Drew Magary and David Roth. Every week, Drew and Roth tackle subjects, both serious and impossibly stupid, with a parade of guests from around the world of sports and media joining in the fun! Roth and Drew also field Funbag questions from Defector readers, answer listener voicemails, and get upset about the number of people who use speakerphone while in a public bathroom stall. This is a show where everything matters, because everyone could use a Distraction. Head to defector.com for more info.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Drew is off frolicking on another continent, so it’s time to talk about baseball! Kelsey is back with Roth to swap their first ballpark stories of the 2026 season. Of course, there’s lots of new things to grab your attention at a baseball game this year - especially if you happen to know a guy at the Elias Sports Bureau who you can ask obscure questions in the middle of the night. Then, they talk about their shared passion of eating out at restaurants: did Roth embarrass himself at a friends and family dinner, despite Kelsey’s advice? Finally, they open up the Funbag and share the quotes that are stuck in their heads forever.
Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0!

Stuff We Talked About
Nitrate toxicity
A 33 mph Eephus
Bunting and slapping
Saint Liam Hicks
Egging CB Bucknor’s house
Discrete and finishable tasks
A classic Sweet Davey Maneuver™
Gnarly bamboo

Credits
- Hosts: Drew Magary & David Roth
- Producer: Brandon Grugle
- Editor: Mischa Stanton
- Production Services & Ads: Multitude Podcasts
- Subscribe to Defector!

About The Show
The Distraction is Defector's flagship podcast about sports (and movies, and art, and sandwiches, and certain coastal states) from longtime writers Drew Magary and David Roth. Every week, Drew and Roth tackle subjects, both serious and impossibly stupid, with a parade of guests from around the world of sports and media joining in the fun! Roth and Drew also field Funbag questions from Defector readers, answer listener voicemails, and get upset about the number of people who use speakerphone while in a public bathroom stall. This is a show where everything matters, because everyone could use a Distraction. Head to defector.com for more info.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emma Baccellieri (Sports Illustrated) is back, and with a new book! Drew and Roth ask her about her writing process, and how she worked with co-author Jordan Robinson. Then, they talk Emma’s women’s Sweet Sixteen bracket and WNBA players’ collective bargaining. Finally, it’s Emma’s Soda Minute, and Drew and Roth open up the funbag to answer questions from Distraction listeners.
Go get Emma’s new book, Court Queens: Celebrate the Players, Teams, and History of Women's Basketball, out now!
Do you want to hear your question answered on the pod? Well, give us a call at 909-726-3720. That is 909-PANERA-0!

Stuff We Talked About
Opening day is opening night
When Netflix had DVDs
WNBA CBA marathon negotiations
Emma’s new favorite sodas!
Dr. Pepper’s medical credentials
Mr. Pibb’s neck tattoo
Historical one-sided relationships
The good mustaches
Bloop out, get hard (cheese)

Credits
- Hosts: Drew Magary & David Roth
- Producer: Brandon Grugle
- Editor: Mischa Stanton
- Production Services & Ads: Multitude Podcasts
- Subscribe to Defector!

About The Show
The Distraction is Defector's flagship podcast about sports (and movies, and art, and sandwiches, and certain coastal states) from longtime writers Drew Magary and David Roth. Every week, Drew and Roth tackle subjects, both serious and impossibly stupid, with a parade of guests from around the world of sports and media joining in the fun! Roth and Drew also field Funbag questions from Defector readers, answer listener voicemails, and get upset about the number of people who use speakerphone while in a public bathroom stall. This is a show where everything matters, because everyone could use a Distraction. Head to defector.com for more info.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.